Making Sarma, Stuffed vine leaves with participants in Amman, Jordan
Merhaba All,
I have just returned from Amman, Jordan, where we had our 3 day Turkish cookery course; it was a very special trip from the start to beginning and I wanted share some highlights here with you.
JA University students helping out at our Turkish cookery course.
Preparing for our Turkish cookery course in Jordan, love the fresh produce
My huge thanks first of all to dear Mrs Suhair Kilani and Panthera Jordan for organising our Turkish Cookery Course in Amman; Mrs Kilani has done so much for spreading the word on Turkish cuisine and make our course happen 2nd time in Jordan, my heartfelt thanks to her. It was very special to return to JA University to teach and I love being with the students there. They have been very enthusiastic and hard working; always a very happy feeling being inspired by them and be able to inspire. I was very touched by all the kindness and generous hospitality of our Jordanian friends , it really has been a very special trip.
Turkish Jordanian Friendship Association Opening
With dear Suhair Kilani and Manar Bilbeisi at the Turkish Jordanian Friendship Association
I had the honor to be the guest speaker at the opening of the new premises of the Turkish Jordanian Friendship Association. It was an honor to be able to meet Turkish food lovers and have a chance to talk about Turkish cuisine. I have been so touched by dear Jordanians’ love and interest for Turkish cuisine and Turkey.
Potato and bulgur patties at our course in Jordan, it was a huge hit!
Gozleme, Anatolian flat breads with spinach and cheese, another very popular dish from our Turkish cookery course
Zeytinyagli Sarma, Stuffed vine leaves with aromatic rice from our class, big hit
We had over 14 classic Turkish recipes we made during our Turkish cookery course. It was wonderful to see the keen interest from the participants and their enjoyment; some of the highlights have been Potato and bulgur rolls with pomegranate molasses, stuffed vine leaves with aromatic rice, Gozleme, Anatolian flat breads with cheese and spinach and many more.
Islim Kebabi, eggplant slices wrapped around marinated chicken
Making Sekerpare with the participants
Cezerye, caramalised carrot paste with walnuts from our class, delicious and healthy
We also made other classics such as Iskender Kebab, Stuffed peppers and tomatoes, Dolma, this delightful, gluten-free Islim Kebabi, marinated chicken wrapped around eggplant slices, Manti, Turkish dumplings and many more. Desserts we made included Sekerpare, Semolina cookies in syrup, Cezerye, caramalised carrot paste with walnuts, Semolina Halva and the very special Tavuk Gogsu; Ottoman milk pudding with finely shredded chicken. I will share the recipe of this unusual but delicious dessert in a separate post.
Our visit to the Turkish Embassy in Amman
Our Turkish cookery course in Amman has been very generously supported by the Turkish Embassy in Amman; it was a great honor to be able to visit our Turkish Ambassador, Mr Onal, to give our thanks for their support. Also very humbled by his kind words for our contribution to Turkish cuisine, we hope to organise many more of these courses in the near future.
A delightful pomegranate tree at the TIKA office in Amman
Turkish tea, cay, very kindly offered at the TIKA office
More kindness and hospitality followed, we felt home at the wonderful TIKA office in Amman and seeing their garden, I was transported to my grandmother’s 450 year old stone home in old Antakya. She used to have pomegranate, fig and walnut trees in her garden and we would wake up with the doves singing, seeing these beautiful trees and hearing the doves were a very magical reminiscence.
TV interview during our Turkish cookery course in Amman.
Giving certificates to the participants of our Turkish cookery course
Last day of our Turkish cookery course was filmed and I was interviewed on Turkish cuisine and its perception in Amman, to be aired on national TV. We also made it to Jordanian Times apparently! So good to see all this interest for Turkish cuisine. Another highlight was giving certificates to the participants of our 3 day Turkish cookery course, they have been all so enthusiastic and wonderful.
Turkish coffee, enjoyed by everyone at our Turkish cookery course.
We made everyone Turkish coffee at the end; many thanks to Ozerlat Coffee for providing our Turkish coffee, everyone greatly enjoyed the aromatic taste and the traditions, rituals behind this special drink, it really is more than a drink for us.
Our Turkish Cookery Course in Jordan has been a very special trip from start to the end, my heartfelt thanks to everyone for their warm hospitality, can’t wait to come back again!
Brief but very Special Stop in Istanbul
Hello from Istanbul; a very precious stop at the Bosphorus
Icing on the cake of this trip has been a brief but very special stop in Istanbul afterwards; the city I adore. As soon as I landed, I was by the Bosphorus in Bebek, a very special, memorable moment!
Dear Claudia Turgut’s photo exhibition at PositivIST, Arnavutkoy, Istanbul
Mum, my lovely sister Oznur and me together, a very precious moment
Dear friend and ex-fellow blogger, owner of the wonderful A Seasonal Cook in Turkey blog Claudia Turgut has now a wonderful new passion, photography. She and some other photographers opened this lovely photo exhibition called PositivIST, sharing Istanbul they love through their photographs. Thanks to my lovely sister, we managed to make it to the Exhibition and met lovely Claudia. The exhibition continues until October 13th, located in Arnavutkoy Istanbul and highly recommended; gorgeous photos of Istanbul from these wonderful artists.
Fascinating Bosphorus and Istanbul
Glass of Cay by the Bosphorus, heavenly
Time to say farewell to this fascinating city, Istanbul, until next time; it was a huge dose of home, seeing loved ones being at home, treasured every minute.
What a delightful and interesting journey to Amman and a precious stop at Istanbul. Lovely read and pictures. xxPeri.
Thank you dear Peri, glad you enjoyed it; Amman is a must visit – and that precious stop in Istanbul was icing on the cake! Ozlem xx
Özlem, what a delightful posting – lovely to hear about your visit and course in Amman. Power to your elbow and ‘health to your hands’! 😀
Sevgili Alan, thank you so much, it’s been such a pleasure to be in Amman, such warm hospitality, great participants, we all cooked together 🙂 I would go back in a flash, insallah soon : ) Cok selamlar, Ozlem
Ozlem, I could almost smell and taste those wonderful dishes. What a fabulous time for all concerned. Congratulations!
Merhaba J, thank you so much for your kind note; Amman has been really a very special trip, wonderful folks, great classes, can’t wait to go back! Cok tesekkur ederim, sevgiler, Ozlem x
Such a lovely vibrant report, dear Ozlem! What a successful trip you had! I love the look of all the Turkish delicacies you made – good choice there. You are so very sweet to mention our exhibition PositivIST and my photos… it was very kind of you to come and visit the gallery! Thank you and l look forward to seeing you the next time 🙂
Merhaba dear Claudia, cok cok tesekkur ederim! It really was so special to see you and your PositivIST exhibition is stunning! Really hope many more folks make it and enjoy those amazing shots of Istanbul. See you soon, look forward to it, cok sevgiler, Ozlem xx
Very much enjoyed seeing the photos of your visit in Jordan and all of your success there. Your photos of Istanbul brought back memories of the time I visited there. Love this city with so much history, beautiful buildings and friendly people.
Hope you will do another cooking class in San Antonio, Texas. Love all of your recipes and prepare many of them often,
Many thanks.
Merhaba dear Helga, so lovely to get your note, thank you so much for taking the time to write, very glad you enjoyed the post. Visiting Istanbul was icing on the cake, any excuse to go back to that fascinating city – do hope you come back to Istanbul, no doubt friendly folks, amazing food and breathtaking sites will welcome you. I would love to return to TX to teach more classes, high on my list and I hope I will get my cookery book ready and bring with me – early stages, though even the thought of it is very exciting. So glad you’re enjoying my recipes, really no better compliment, cok cok tesekkurler : ) Ozlem
Özlem’ciğim, As I’ve often said, you are the best and, I’m sure, the most beloved ambassador that Turkey has. And I see that it’s officially being recognized by the Turkish ambassador to Jordan. My heavens, the amount and variety of food you cooked with your students! All of the photos – magnificent. Next week, we’re going to visit the Positivist photo exhibit. Lovely pic of you and Claudia. Great, lovely time. Our hat’s off to you, lovely Özlem and your Turkish table. xoxo J and M
Sevgili Jolee’cigim, Mark’cigim, what a lovely note to find, you made my day!:) Thank you so much for your kind words, really means the world to me. You both have been so kind and supportive all throughout my culinary journey and I feel very lucky to have you right beside me, cok cok tesekkur ederim. It’s an honor and priviledge to do what I do, I am ever grateful. Enjoy visiting PositivIST exhibit, such a fabulous exhibition and also at one of my favorite parts of Istanbul, Arnavutkoy, I will be there with you in spirit. Many thanks again, cok sevgilerimle, Ozlem xxx